eMarketer Unveils First-Ever Worldwide Instagram Forecast

Users of the platform will number 593.7 million by year’s end

In our first-ever worldwide Instagram forecast, eMarketer estimates 593.7 million people worldwide will use the social network at least once a month by the end of 2017. Instagram’s ranks will balloon over the coming years, reaching 927.9 million users by 2021.

Although Instagram claims its user base to be upward of 800 million, eMarketer’s forecasting figures take into consideration duplicate accounts, business profiles and fake users.

The US is Instagram’s biggest market; eMarketer estimates 85.5 million people in the country will use the platform regularly in 2017. However, the vast majority of the platform’s user base will be outside of the US.

“Instagram’s exponential growth in popularity over the past two years is a direct result of new product updates and features including Instagram Stories, live video, geostickers and face filters that have kept its user base active and engaged,” said Cindy Liu, forecasting analyst at eMarketer.

Unlike Snapchat—which has focused on mature markets with readily available mobile broadband and high-end mobile devices—Instagram has had great success in building a highly engaged user base among younger, mobile-centric users in emerging markets.

“We see no signs of this slowing down in the near future, and the company’s strategic push toward international markets—in particular Southeast Asia—will continue to fuel growth in the years to come,” said Liu.